Tracker: Bowditch takes lead at Texas Open

Steven Bowditch shot 5-under 67 Friday at TPC San Antonio to take a one-shot lead over Chad Collins and Andrew Loupe at the Valero Texas Open.

Also, Jordan Spieth played himself into the weekend while Phil Mickelson finished on the cut line at 3 over.

Here’s how it happened:

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Update No. 19: 8:17 p.m. EDT

Phil Mickelson’s second shot at the par-5 18th nearly finds the water. But he gets up-and-down for birdie to move to 3 over and inside the projected cut line.

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Update No. 18: 7:13 p.m. EDT

The projected cut is still 2 over, but now 72 players are at that number or better, meaning 3 over being the cut is a possibility. That’s good news for Phil Mickelson, who just bogeyed the 15th to drop to 4 over. Jordan Spieth also bogeyed No. 15 to fall to 2 over.

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Update No. 17: 6:59 p.m. EDT

Jordan Spieth chips in for birdie at the par-5 16th to get back to 1 over.

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Update No. 16: 6:04 p.m. EDT

Jordan Spieth can’t get up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the par-4 11th and he bogeys to fall back to 2 over, which is still the projected cut line.

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Update No. 15: 5:40 p.m. EDT

The projected cut is now 2 over with 81 players currently safe. Phil Mickelson is 3 over with eight holes remaining while Jimmy Walker is finished at 3 over.

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Update No. 14: 5:07 p.m. EDT

Phil Mickelson lays up at the par-5 eighth before making his first bogey of the day to fall back to 3 over. Check out the above video of Mickelson’s birdie at the sixth hole (mobile readers can view it here).

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Update No. 13: 4:29 p.m. EDT

Jordan Spieth’s birdie at No. 5 moves him inside the projected cut line at 1 over while Phil Mickelson birdies the par-4 sixth hole to get to 2 over.

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Update No. 12: 3:56 p.m. EDT

Jordan Spieth makes a 6-footer for birdie at the par-4 fourth to move to 2 over while Phil Mickelson remains at 2 over.

Also, Steven Bowditch closes with double bogey at the par-4 ninth to shoot 5-under 67 and finish the day at 8 under. He’s a shot ahead of Chad Collins.

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Update No. 11: 3:31 p.m. EDT

Phil Mickelson birdies opening two holes to move to 3 over overall, joining Jordan Spieth, who is even through two holes today. The projected cut is still 1 over.

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Update No. 10: 3:24 p.m. EDT

Chesson Hadley closed with four bogeys in his last seven holes to shoot 1-over 73 and fall to 2 under.

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Update No. 9: 2:53 p.m. EDT

The projected cut is 1 over as Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson begin their second rounds. Spieth will begin the day at 3 over while Mickelson is 5 over after Thursday’s 77.

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Update No. 8: 1:50 p.m. EDT

Steven Bowditch birdies Nos. 2 and 3 to move to 10 under overall. He now leads by five shots.

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Update No. 7: 1:20 p.m. EDT

A two-putt birdie at the par-5 18th moves Steven Bowditch to 9 under. He makes the turn at 5 under on his round, and leads the field by two shots.

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Update No. 6: 1:01 p.m. EDT

Kevin Na is playing well again this week. Na is 3 under, 1 under through 10 holes today. He has three finishes of T-14 or better in his last four starts, including a runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship and a T-4 showing at Pebble Beach.

Of course, there has also been a lot of talk about Na’s slow-play reputation, although his peers have talked about Na’s improvement in that area.

Update No. 5: 12:58 p.m. EDT

Steven Bowditch is now the solo leader at 7 under after his birdie at the eighth hole. After hitting his tee ball well right, Bowditch stuck his approach inside of 2 feet to set up the birdie. He is 4 under through eight holes today.

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Update No. 4: 12:24 p.m. EDT

Chesson Hadley is tied for the lead at 6 under with Steven Bowditch and Andrew Loupe. Hadley is trying to earn a Masters invite this week. He can either win or finish in the top 5 and hope that the finish is good enough to move him inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking – Hadley is currently 56th.

Update No. 3: 11:55 a.m. EDT

Fred Funk, who is taking advantage of his top-50 career money extension, has made just two cuts in seven starts this season. He is 1 under overall right now, 1 over through five holes today.

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Update No. 2: 11:27 a.m. EDT

Andrew Loupe wrapped up his first-round, 5-under 67 this morning to briefly take the lead. But Chesson Hadley and Steven Bowditch have since moved to 6 under overall. Hadley is 3 under through five holes today while Bowditch is 3 under through four holes.

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Update No. 1: 11 a.m. EDT

Before we get started tracking for the day, take a look at the above video, which recaps the first-round action from TPC San Antonio (mobile readers can view it here).

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Thursday coverage

Pat Perez and Danny Lee managed 4-under 68s to hold the clubhouse lead, while Andrew Loupe was 4 under through 11 holes before play was halted due to darkness on Thursday evening at the Valero Texas Open.

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Preview coverage

Phil Mickelson’s final stroke of the day, a deft 8-footer for birdie, fell into the cup at 7:40 p.m. local time, though no one saw it. It was that dark at TPC San Antonio on Wednesday evening. What could be heard, however, was the good cheer of a pro-am much enjoyed.

Former Texas Longhorns player Jordan Spieth and Brendan Steele are two of the players drawing interest from our experts in their picks for this week’s Valero Texas Open on the PGA Tour. Spieth has played well much of this season, and a homecoming could be just what he needs to put four solid rounds together.

In his previous eight trips to the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, Jimmy Walker was the hometown guy. This time, well, he’s still the hometown guy, only now he’s also a three-time PGA Tour winner. Zach Johnson, meanwhile, is back for the first time since and looking to put a bad round out of mind.

The Valero Texas Open wasn’t exactly a tournament he had penciled in as part of his ease back into competition, but Benjamin Alvarado is thrilled for the opportunity. At home in Orlando, Fla., on Monday, Alvarado was two tournaments into his return from being sidelined for months with an injury to his left kneecap.

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